


A moment to relax

by NandaWrites



Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types, Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare, Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Bubble Bath, Established Relationship, Fluff, Intimacy, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-19
Updated: 2016-05-19
Packaged: 2018-06-09 08:46:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6899152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NandaWrites/pseuds/NandaWrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Things on the Institute have been rough and Alec needs just a moment of peace and quiet. Magnus knows just the perfect way to help him with that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A moment to relax

The steam was rising slowly inside the bathroom, warm and smelling faintly of flowers, as Alec stood by the side near the door and dug his toes on the tiled floor, rocking back and forth on his bare feet as he watched Magnus fill the tub and then start preparing it with all sorts of concoctions Alec would never have thought existed, much less that were “absolutely necessary for a bath that is even remotely decent”, as Magnus had put it. There were salts and perfumed liquids and things that had made an incredible amount of bubbles cover the surface of the water.

He had always wondered how did Magnus manage to spend an hour in the bath sometimes, now he knew. Apparently, it took more than 20 minutes just to prepare everything.

 Alec didn’t understand the purpose of any of that. For him, showers served a clear practical purpose of getting yourself clean as quickly as possible and that was all. Five minutes in the morning and then five minutes after training or a mission - a bit more if the demon they had fought had been particularly icky - and he was done. This was how all shadowhunters were raised. Even when staying in Magnus’ loft, he always used the shower above the bathtub, but this time Magnus had other ideas.

There had been a stressful few days, a quick succession of demon attacks putting the Institute in high alert and the Clave breathing on their necks, and Alec was starting to feel the toll of it, in a constant state of stress, exhaustion and pressure. It had been difficult even getting the night off to come see Magnus, but he needed it. A bit of peace and quiet and someone to hold him and take some of the weight off his shoulders. 

He didn’t think a bath was in any way necessary for that, but Magnus had taken one look at his face and decided that yes, it was absolutely necessary. Alec had tried to argue, but Magnus just gave him a soft kiss and said “Trust me, Alexander”. And Alec did.

He had to admit there was something really soothing in watching Magnus move around, and that the whatever it was he had put in the water smelled really nice, even though the air where he was had gotten rather chilly.

“Are you done?” He asked, when Magnus stopped moving and just watched the tub with a finger under his chin.  


“Patience is a virtue, love,” was the reply, to which Alec just rolled his eyes.  


“May be, but freezing by the door in my underwear is not, so, are you done?” The warlock laughed.  


“Yes, I’m done, take off the underwear and come here.”  


Alec did as he was told and walked over to the edge of the tub, blushing when Magnus held out his hand for him so he could support himself while lifting his feet and getting into the water, as if he was a princess getting into a carriage. He tried not to dwell on that and took the hand, entering the tub and feeling Magnus’ hands move to his shoulders and press down slightly until he lowered himself and sat in the tub, feeling the warm water and bubbles encompass him till the base of his neck.

It felt… absolutely heavenly. The heat from the water seemed to seep into his very bones and muscles, easing away soreness and stiffness from places he had gotten so used to he couldn’t even tell anymore they weren’t supposed to feel like that. He didn’t know if it were the salts or one of the dozen of products Magnus had poured in, but it felt like something was slowly bubbling inside the water, sending pleasurable tingles across his skin, and the smell was already soothing his mind with just one breath. He let out a loud sigh as he closed his eyes.

“Tooold youuu,” Magnus sing song voice reached him from afar and he opened his eyes to see the warlock staring amusedly down at him, looking very self satisfied. He grunted, cheeks heating up once again at having been proven wrong so quickly, but he wouldn’t deny it.  


“It’s, ahm, better than I imagined.”  


“Isn’t life just full of pleasant surprises? Just give me one minute and I’ll be joining you shortly.”  


Alec looked puzzled for a second as Magnus stepped away, but his confusion soon passed as he saw the other stop by the sink, getting tissues and make up remover to start taking off his make up. The first time he had seem it, Alec thought the gesture was odd. Magnus had magic, he could easily remove the make up and put it on as he pleased, and yet he chose to do it as any normal person would. Alec hadn’t asked, yet, but he supposed it had something to do with the “life’s simple pleasures” the warlock always talked about. 

It was a simple pleasure all on its own, to sit in the tub and watch Magnus wash away all his make up, remove his rings and necklaces one by one and leave them on top of the sink, before slowly taking off his clothes and leaving them in a pile on the floor until only his underwear was left. By the time he was done, Alec was once again completely mesmerised by his elegant movements, the warmness surrounding him and the soft perfume making his mind hazy, his body relaxed and his spirit completely content. He closed his eyes again, feeling light for the first time in days. A soft hand threaded into his hair, caressing his head.

“Feeling good, love?” Magnus asked.  


“Uhuuummm,” the hummed agreement was all he could muster at the moment. He thought Magnus would get into the tub with him - the Angel knew it was large enough for the both of them - but instead he seemed to be settling himself behind Alec’s back. He opened his eyes again and tilted his head back. “What are you doing?”  


“Hm? Isn’t it obvious? I’m going to wash your hair.”  


That made Alec gasp, and stutter, blushing even more furiously than the times before, not really knowing how to react to that or what to say. “That is not- That… You don’t need to do that,” he finally managed.

“No, but I want to. Come on now, darling, put your head under the water for a moment and then come back here so I can start.”  


“ _Magnus.”_  


“ _Alexander,”_ the other mimicked his pointed, pleading tone, not without fondness. “I said I’d help you get completely relaxed and I meant it. It will be good, I promise you.”  


Alec still stuttered for a moment, but eventually nodded and completely submerged himself in the water before coming back and wiping it away from his eyes. In that time, it seemed like Magnus had covered his hands with another perfumed shampoo, because as soon as Alec rested back against the edge of the tub, his fingers were in his head, brushing his hair back and massaging all around his scalp. He couldn’t help but hum again. Magnus was right, as amazing as Alec had felt up until now, this made everything many times better.

Time ticked by slowly as Magnus continued in his care, finishing the massage and then scooping up small amounts of warm water in his hands to wash away the shampoo from Alec’s hair, before guiding him to submerge himself once again to be sure everything had come off.

Once he had cleaned the water from his eyes again, he tilted his head back and stared up at Magnus, a small perfectly content smile in his lips. “Thank you,” he murmured. For the massage and the bath, yes, but also for much more, for everything Magnus had ever done for him, for loving him so completely and gently even when Alec was doing nothing but hurt him, for simply being Magnus and existing in Alec’s life.

To Magnus’ credit, he didn’t say “I told you so” again, he just leaned forward and left a soft kiss on Alec’s upturned lips. “Any time, love.” He got up, finally removing his underwear and getting into the tub as well, ignoring all the free space in order to sit in between Alec’s legs, sliding forward to let his head rest against the other’s shoulder.

Alec’s hands passed around his waist and he kissed the top of the warlock's head. For a while, they just sat there, enjoying the water and each other’s presence, feeling completely warm and relaxed and content and exactly where they belonged.

**Author's Note:**

> Just something small to get this account started. It was originally a drabble prompt I got on Tumblr. Feel free to send me a message there on [nandawrites](http://www.nandawrites.tumblr.com) or here if you have a request or just want to chat!


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